Re: DC Collectibles doing Batman The Animated Series figures!!!!!
I picked up the Beyond three pack the other day, and I have some thoughts:
-Bruce is the star of the show and he is awesome. In the package, he looks like a hulking beast, and he very much is, but, posing him, hunched over his cane, head perched out, as he did in the show, it doesn't seem like it would, but it makes a world of difference. The paint and sculpt is phenomenal and they just nailed it. I kind of want to get my TNBA Bats out and see how they compare.
-Batman Beyond is...not as cool as what I'd hoped for. As a huge fan of the show, I can say that Terry deserves better, and he seems to have suffered by being put in this three pack. I get what they were going for with the wings, but they completely missed the mark. His arms are limited by the way they designed his shoulders so that it's physically impossible for someone to raise them up enough that they will camouflage the hinges, and, similarly, the back piece for the wings is too wide, so, no matter what, you can see the balljoints, you can see how separate the wing pieces are, and it totally ruins the whole thing. To my mind, this basic Batman Beyond makes me wish they'd give Terry the deluxe treatment, or, hell, the Expressions Pack treatment. A few alternate heads, shocked face, smiling face, bloody face, squinting angry face, this head, interchangeable wings for his back in different positions, and, for the instances where the wings appear to pop out from under his arms, take a page out of Man-Bat and Joker's books by including interchangeable arms. With that flight stand, you could even put some holes in his heels where you could attach flames or something to recreate his rocket boots. Throw in a Terry McGinnis figure in his casual clothes with a head you can alternate with the Beyond figure, and include an additional mask for him to hold and I think it would make for a killer package.
-Ace is kind of cool, but my problem is with the fact that they didn't account for a dog's physiology in making the figure, and they could've remedied that by either including some interchangeable parts or additional points of articulation. I thought it'd be kind of cool to have Bruce sit in the chair by the Batcomputer and Ace lying next to him, but the way his legs stretch out, really, you can only pose him standing, walking, or running; otherwise, it looks awkward as hell. I think it would've been awesome if they gave him some interchangeable back legs so he could sit or lie down and appear more naturally, and I know it seems like I'm nitpicking, but they didn't view Ace as an accessory in what they charged for him, so, it's only fair that I judge him as a full figure. That being said, visually, he looks great in most standing poses, I just think they could've put a bit more thought into it.
Overall, I'm conflicted. The figures all look pretty great in terms of detail and accuracy, though I still feel like Terry's a bit on the small side. Having found it on sale at a local place for half off, I'm very happy with my purchase, but if they were asking me to pay $65? **** no. Especially when the TDKR three-pack, with two massive, hulking Batman and Mutant Leader figures, and a fully functional, articulated Carrie Kelly is only $5 more. To me, this three pack stuff only works if it's well thought out, and they tried to make this one work, but it came out lacking. Bruce and Ace, easily, could've been their own $28 figure and giving Terry his own release could've gave them some more leeway to flesh him out a bit more and produce a better offering. I get that they're trying to test the waters with these multi-packs (as they're doing with Superman and Lois, and the Legends of the Dark Knight TDKR pack), but if it's going to scare away potential customers because, as an offering, it's lacking, then, you're not really doing that particular line any favors, nor are you giving it it's fair shake to thrive.
